Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Ballantine Books, 1988, c1976
Description
It is 922 A.D. The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to the north. Fadlan belatedly discovers that his job is to combat the terrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings--but just how he will do it, Fadlan has no idea.
User reviews
LibraryThing member masterdeski
Silly me, I skipped over the introduction part where he said it was all fiction, and didn't realize it was so until I got to the 'Factual Note.' Had to re-evaluate my impressions entirely, but that was all for the better, because what had bothered me as inaccurate or implausible was suddenly
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fantasy! I particularly remember laughing over his note that he spent several hours looking up a footnote, only to reluctantly conclude that it was one of the fictional ones! I think if I were to create a work of fiction in the format of a scholarly paper that I would keep better notes ... Show Less
LibraryThing member RandyStafford
My reactions to reading this novel in1999. Spoilers follow.
This is a not at all disguised retelling of Beowulf with a science fiction rationalization for Grendel. The names are slightly altered, but the setting is still Scandinavia in the Viking age. Crichton’s conceit is that this account is the
The fact that this is a mock travel report make the style of this book less like a modern suspense novel like Crichton usually writes (I presume – I’ve only read this and The Great Train Robbery by him) or the mournful story of Beowulf and more a story of character and social observation. Fadlan’s fight descriptions (he is no warrior and is afraid of heights) are brief and surpassed in length by his many observations on the manners, mores, and psychology of Viking life – including it’s many practical and fatalistic proverbs. Eventually, descending into the Thunder Caves to kill Wendol’s mother, he’s almost a Viking himself. He participates in a duel between feuding Viking factions and helps sacrifice the slave girl that accompanies Buliwyf on his pyre. He’s sorry to leave the Vikings. Crichton completely omits the original part of the Beowulf story where Beowulf fights a dragon in old age. Here he dies fighting the Wendol. Crichton here introduces the notion, further amplified by a mock appendix briefly summarizing questions of Neanderthal culture, appearance, and disappearance, that the Wendol (the Grendel of Beowulf) are a tribe of left over Neanderthal – cannibalistic ones at that.
This is a not at all disguised retelling of Beowulf with a science fiction rationalization for Grendel. The names are slightly altered, but the setting is still Scandinavia in the Viking age. Crichton’s conceit is that this account is the
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writing of Ibn Fadlan, an emissary from Bagdad. He has great fun with his introduction at footnotes on archaeological and mythological matters. Some of his quoted sources are real, some fictitious. To draw attention to this tongue-in-cheek mock academia style, the general reference books are not listed alphabetically be author and conclude with Abdul Azhared’s Necronomicon anachronistically listed as edited by H. P. Lovecraft in 1934. There really was an Ibn Fadlan and the first three chapters of the book – all before the narrator is accosted into accompanying Buliwyf’s band – are substantially drawn from it. The fact that this is a mock travel report make the style of this book less like a modern suspense novel like Crichton usually writes (I presume – I’ve only read this and The Great Train Robbery by him) or the mournful story of Beowulf and more a story of character and social observation. Fadlan’s fight descriptions (he is no warrior and is afraid of heights) are brief and surpassed in length by his many observations on the manners, mores, and psychology of Viking life – including it’s many practical and fatalistic proverbs. Eventually, descending into the Thunder Caves to kill Wendol’s mother, he’s almost a Viking himself. He participates in a duel between feuding Viking factions and helps sacrifice the slave girl that accompanies Buliwyf on his pyre. He’s sorry to leave the Vikings. Crichton completely omits the original part of the Beowulf story where Beowulf fights a dragon in old age. Here he dies fighting the Wendol. Crichton here introduces the notion, further amplified by a mock appendix briefly summarizing questions of Neanderthal culture, appearance, and disappearance, that the Wendol (the Grendel of Beowulf) are a tribe of left over Neanderthal – cannibalistic ones at that.
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LibraryThing member jpsnow
Wonderful. Crichton builds an entire novel from the paleontological possibility that Neanderthal man lived into the 10th century. The "Chronicles of Ibn Fadlan" are written so well -- complete with biographical cross-references and sayings of the time -- that it is hard to remember that this is
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fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member aratiel
As with all of Michael Crichton's books, this one was easy to read and didn't take me long once I got into it. It's also full of gore, sex, and sensationalism, all easy to digest during lazy summer reading. Again, I must emphasize that I don't like violence, but in small doses and in such contexts
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it's acceptable, even fascinating...rather like all violence, your intent isn't to look it in the eye, but at the same time you can't pull yourself away. And, while sex is always fun, here it's from the barbaric male point of view, an underlying sign of Crichton's own sexism (very apparent if you read his non-fiction Travels). Not that I don't still enjoy his works. Not to spoil anything, but EotD is basically the story of Beowulf with the names slightly changed and from an Arabic viewpoint. It turns out more or less the same as well, the fight with Grendel (creatures named wendol, collectively), the ripping off of the arm, the plunge into water to fight the mother of the wendol, and the death of Beowulf. The fictional scholars in the end debate whether or not the wendol were in fact surviving Neanderthals, which was interesting. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish fact from fiction in his books, they're so infused with scientific (or scientific-sounding) tidbits, but I think at least his descriptions of Viking customs were correct (I'm aligning this with the little I know about Vikings here...all I know is that I associate them with horned hats and big women singing opera). Show Less
LibraryThing member NickHowes
Basis of a great adventure movie, this is the story of an Arab diplomat who is side-tracked into the land of the Norse as part of an attempt to thwart the attacks of the Eaters of the Dead, a bizarre, dreaded cannibalistic tribe that even makes Vikings fearful. Lots more depth than the entertaining
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movie, a short but rewarding book filled with great research about Viking life, all wrapped around an exciting battle. In an afterword, Chrichton explains he tried to write a story of an event that could've been the real basis of the classic Beowulf. Show Less
LibraryThing member NannyOgg13
I love the movie, so I thought I'd give the book a try. I never thought I'd say this - the movie is better. Or rather, the movie reproduced the book almost verbatim, but the writing was so dry I needed a month to finish it while the movie is... well, the movie - fun and over in less than two hours.
LibraryThing member golfjr
sort of gilgamesh and the neaderthals...
LibraryThing member ikeman100
Fun read. Crichton is a great author. After all he brought us Jurassic Park and other great books.
This book based on an interesting idea. What if he could show that that the famous Nordic story of Beowulf was based on real events. Crichton takes real historical knowledge of the vikings and a real
This book based on an interesting idea. What if he could show that that the famous Nordic story of Beowulf was based on real events. Crichton takes real historical knowledge of the vikings and a real
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Arab who wrote about his encounter with them and turns out a good yarn. Show Less
LibraryThing member BenKline
Crichton's attempt at Beowulf (and adjusting it a bit). Pretty lackluster overall and quite boring. So far my least favorite Crichton novel that I've read. (It's not a 'horrible' novel; its just kind of boring, predictable, and not altogether interesting and even without going into it knowing it
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was his attempt at Beowulf - you can tell that's what it is by about chapter 5 and you can tell it will already pale in comparison). Show Less
LibraryThing member Goodwillbooks
I enjoyed this book - Michael Crichton always tells a different story, and this is no exception. While there can be a formulaic nature to his plots, that doesn't even apply in this case. The book is presented as the translation of the true manuscript of Ibn (not to be confused with ISBN) Fadlan, an
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emissary from the Middle East, to a leader in the North Country in A.D. 922. He writes of his journey and his impressions of the heathen Northmen with whom he travels, and further of his adventures when he is forced to accompany a band of Northmen warriors to a far northern location and do battle with the Wendol - the Mist Monsters. A little research on Wikipedia discloses that, in fact, there was an Ibn Fadlan, who wrote of such travels - to an extent. The latter adventures are Crichton's attempt to create a readable, believeable foundation for the Beowulf legend after a debate with someone about the merits of Beowulf as a work of literature (the argument being that, despite its inarguable place in literary history, it's actually not terribly involving). I'd say he succeeds. Show Less
LibraryThing member StormRaven
For anyone who didn't know, this book formed the basis for the movie The Thirteenth Warrior. I rather liked the movie, and the book is, in my opinion, better than the movie. The story is essentially is retelling of the story of Beowulf, altered slightly so that the mythical and fantastical events
The book is also told from the perspective of an Arabic diplomat traveling through lands of the Rus who gets caught up in the tale. The book is told as a "discovered" history supposedly written by the wandering Arab. Having an outsider narrate the tale as a history of events allows Crichton to explain the oddities of the Rus culture and the various "barbarian" behaviors without being heavy handed about it.
While this may not be as well known as Crichton's other books, I think this is one of his best. Cribbing from Beowulf probably helps any author, but this version is very well done, told from an interesting perspective.
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in the Old English poem have somewhat plausible explanations.The book is also told from the perspective of an Arabic diplomat traveling through lands of the Rus who gets caught up in the tale. The book is told as a "discovered" history supposedly written by the wandering Arab. Having an outsider narrate the tale as a history of events allows Crichton to explain the oddities of the Rus culture and the various "barbarian" behaviors without being heavy handed about it.
While this may not be as well known as Crichton's other books, I think this is one of his best. Cribbing from Beowulf probably helps any author, but this version is very well done, told from an interesting perspective.
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LibraryThing member DidIReallyReadThat
Based on a manuscript of 10th century person who traveled from Baghdad to Scandinavia. It describes his experiences and impressions of the Vikings in approximately 922 AD and blends into the Legend of Beowulf. I enjoyed this book because it was a time period that I had not read much about and it
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was interesting to see someone else's view of the Vikings. Show Less
LibraryThing member CelineNorah
Brilliant. Just a fantastic read. I love how Crichton captures the exact tone of Ibn Fadlan's voice so that the war with the Wendol sounds just as though you are still reading Fadlan's travel journels. Such humour too, conveyed in such a dry tone. A gem.
LibraryThing member DCArchitect
The only book I've ever read that wasn't as good as the movie.
LibraryThing member Prop2gether
The only thing more confused than this novel was the horrific film version
LibraryThing member Aristocats
Eaters of the Dead, written in 1976 by Michael Crichton, is based upon ambassador Ibn Fadlan's account of his journeys among the early Rus people, Northmen as they are called in the book, and the story of Beowulf. The main conflict is between Vikings and a small Neanderthal population.
In the
However, the adventures and battles are captured very well. Crichton's main accomplishment in my view is the ability to present the story in an old sort of language that is in fact very readable. Also, I admired his research work, the footnotes prove he did quite a lot of it.
I enjoyed the book and if you want to find out a little bit about our ancestors, especially Vikings, I recommend it.
In the
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beginning the books is pretty rough: the Northmen are not a clean people, they have customs which in the beginning make the clean Arab Ibn Fadlan cringe, the description of the "daemon"'s massacres are very graphic. This may make some readers give up on the book. As Crichton said in his own words: "I wrote Eaters on a bet that I could make an entertaining story out of 'Beowulf'. It's an unusual book. Readers either like it, or they don't,".However, the adventures and battles are captured very well. Crichton's main accomplishment in my view is the ability to present the story in an old sort of language that is in fact very readable. Also, I admired his research work, the footnotes prove he did quite a lot of it.
I enjoyed the book and if you want to find out a little bit about our ancestors, especially Vikings, I recommend it.
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LibraryThing member BenjaminHahn
This was such a fun book to read. It covers so many classical adventure archetypes and the best thing is, its partially based on an historical document, which lends the book a bit of plausiblity that makes the story even more intriguing. Another great element of the narrative is that its told from
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an outsider point of view so you get the language barrier and its like your discovering this Viking culture and this mysterious threat from a fresh perspective. I have beef with some of Michael Chrichton's personal believes (global warming, ect..) but I have to admit, he's a great story teller. Show Less
LibraryThing member adpaton
I sped through this book in under three hours: it is a quick, easy and enjoyable read but I must admit I was disappointed and am ashamed to say I preferred the film, The 13th Warrior. The main character is far more heroic in the film, and has nifty accessories like his Arab pony plus the ability to
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make an unwieldy sword into a scimitar. The wire worm winding its way down the mountain through the mist is beautifully described, the stench and alieness of the 'monsters' well evoked, but still... Show Less
LibraryThing member andyray
One of his earlier novels, Crichton loved to research and put it together for us. Here he brings us into the 11th century and a Muslim courier who becomes "The 13th Warrior" (the motion picture nmae made from this), with a dozen Vikings with weird names in the story that one may be familiar with
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such as Baiwulf, Helgar, and Wendal (who is a race of filthy carnivoroujs uglies rather than a single monster. Yes. It's another treatment of the greatest saga of our culture -- The Beowulf. Show Less
LibraryThing member Shirezu
I'd been wanting to read this book ever since I found out the movie The 13th Warrior was based on it. I'm a fan of historical fiction and thought this would be right up my alley. It was a decent read, shorter than I expected and better than the movie. I love the blending at the start of real
It was short though and could have used a bit more depth to the characters and the various cultures. You didn't really care about any of the characters and the fighting and battles was over too quick.
An airport thriller, this book is just something to eat some time without making you want to burn it later.
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excerpts from an historical document with the fiction of Beowulf. It was short though and could have used a bit more depth to the characters and the various cultures. You didn't really care about any of the characters and the fighting and battles was over too quick.
An airport thriller, this book is just something to eat some time without making you want to burn it later.
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LibraryThing member Radaghast
I loved the 13th Warrior. I love the book its loosely based off just as much. Eaters of the Dead is written like a genuine historical account, and Crichton pulls it off. You feel like you are reading a memoir of a man's horrific experience. With amazing skill, Crichton shows how culture shock is
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just as terrifying and disgusting as the wicked titular monsters. Show Less
LibraryThing member brettjames
This is my second favorite Crichton, after Jurassic Park. He said he wrote it after having an argument with someone at a party about if Beowulf was an exciting read or not, and he set out to write the book to prove that it was. It's also nice because he writes it very differently from the rest of
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his novels, so it's fun to read. A good read, even if the movie they made from it was one of the worst from any of his books. Show Less
LibraryThing member Anagarika-Sean
Good novel. The end left me wanting for more, though.
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Michael Crichton was a born storyteller and this book, Eaters of the Dead is no exception. Based partially on the legend of Beowulf and partially on the fictionalized writings of Ahmed Ibn Fadlan, an Arab emissary who is intercepted by the Norsemen on his travels.
Ibn Fadlan is gathered up by the
Cleverly written as if translated from an ancient manuscript, Michael Crichton delivers an action-packed adventure story that certainly held my attention. Not world class literature by a long shot, but a Viking tale that provides the right amount of thrills and information.
Ibn Fadlan is gathered up by the
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Norsemen and taken north on their long boat. There are twelve warriors and the Arab makes thirteen, which is considered a lucky number. Their journey brings them to the kingdom of Rothgar and here Ibn Fadlan finds out they are to face the dreaded wendol who come with the night mist to kill, rip apart and cannibalize the Norsemen. Cleverly written as if translated from an ancient manuscript, Michael Crichton delivers an action-packed adventure story that certainly held my attention. Not world class literature by a long shot, but a Viking tale that provides the right amount of thrills and information.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
Cool historical links, I love parables and stories, good main character.
Language
Original publication date
1976
Physical description
211 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0345354613 / 9780345354617
Local notes
Copyright Ⓒ 1976 by Michael Crichton
The material contained in the first three chapters is substantially derived from the manuscript of Ibn Fadian, as translated by Robert P. Blake and Richard N. Frye, and by Albert Stanburrough Cook.
This edition published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
First Ballantine Books Edition: October 1988
The material contained in the first three chapters is substantially derived from the manuscript of Ibn Fadian, as translated by Robert P. Blake and Richard N. Frye, and by Albert Stanburrough Cook.
This edition published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
First Ballantine Books Edition: October 1988
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |
Collection
Pages
211